Tuesday, August 21, 2012

I am furious. I hope everybody in this country watched the story on ABC News today about the disgusting treatment of cows in the slaughter house in California.

The thing is - this happens in every slaughter house EVERY SINGLE DAY! It is standard operating procedure. Few slaughter houses are "compromised" by under cover animal welfare groups because they don't want anybody to know what really happens.

People need to know how meat gets to their table. All meat animals commercially raised are bred, grown, transported and killed under cruel conditions.

Calves are pulled away from their mothers at two days of age so the mother's milk can be used for human consumption. Oh, and their tails are cut off because they get in the way of the milking machines. When the cows are no longer producing enough milk to be profitable, they are shipped for slaughter. Like the poor cow seen today, they still produce milk and they aren't milked once the fate has been decided. So not only is she tortured during transport, she is already in incredible pain from having a hugely engorged udder. They are transported for many hours and then herded into a holding area...still producing milk. Try to imagine her pain.

I could write a post two pages long but won't. Let me tell you though, that cows are not properly stunned before going down the line. First their horns are cut off, then their ears, legs and tails. When they get to the hide puller, THEY ARE STILL ALIVE. If yo don't believe me, Google some facts.

Pigs are subjected to the same treatment as are other meat animals and worse. Slaughter houses run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. People that work on the line get bored and devise methods which are unspeakable to entertain themselves. Again, if you don't believe me - Google it or take a look at a few pages of the book titled Slaughter house. It is full of interviews with said people.

And do you know where Premarin comes from? Pregnant Mares Urine. Mares are kept in narrow iron stalls and impregnated. Hooked up to catheters 24/7 so their estrogen-rich urine is "harvested". They stand on concrete, unable to move during their entire pregnancy. Guess where their foals go? To Europe for food.

Wake up people - any animal that humans can profit from, will be. GREED.

Not many people even stop by this blog but just like Facebook, blogging can be a powerful tool that can be used for other things besides entertainment. If enough people would speak up, the methods in which our food is produced WILL BE CHANGED.

It is completely unnecessary for any cruelty to take place. Animals can still be raised as a food source, but can AND SHOULD be treated humanely throughout the entire process.

The American Indian knew how to treat the earth and all its' creatures. They took only what they could use, used all of it, and gave back to the earth. We should all take those beliefs and traits and do the same thing.
But then, look what we did to the American Indian.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

After I drove through the bridge-tunnel, I had about an hour to go before reaching Hartley's home. She lives in a small township called Modest Town. I've never researched how the name came to be but bet it is a quaint story.

This is farming country and in spite of a dry summer, some of the crops looked beautiful. Of course, the farmers have enormous irrigation systems.

I finally reached her road, which is named after their farm.

See that red roof at the end of the road? That is the house that Pete grew up in. It's for sale and vacant now. If I could, I would buy it and turn it into a bed and breakfast. I have the entire thing planned but I just can't come up with the financial piece of it.

Beyond those trees on the left is Hopeland Farm, where my dear friend lives with her hard working farmer hubby, Pete.

This is some of Pete's corn

...and soybeans

...and beautiful Hopeland Farm.

Two of the horses were in the corner of the pasture near the driveway, but I didn't get a good shot of them. I was really anxious to see Hartley. It's been a long time!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

I haven't seen my dearest friend in at least three years. My previous car had so many issues that I was afraid to drive very far away. But now that I have a safe and solid car, I took a little road trip to see her.

The Eastern Shore of Virginia is where I lived when my daughters were born. I never wanted to leave but was married and my then husband took a job in another state. He just about literally dragged me away. Hartley has remained my friend for about 35 years now.

To get to the Eastern Shore, I drove through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel - an engineering marvel. It's 20 miles long and spans the lower Chesapeake Bay. It has two tunnels that run under the bay to allow tankers and big ships to enter the bay from the ocean. Here's an aerial shot I got from the web. It's really quite amazing!.

Here is another shot from the web that shows a tanker crossing one of the tunnels. Just think - there are lots of cars driving underneath it!

Here I go onto the bridge...

There are always tankers entering or leaving the bay.

I get the heebie-jeebies when I enter the tunnels and try not to think about where I actually am driving and just try to hurry along with the traffic, happy to get out at the other end.

I did this twice but I didn't take pictures of the second tunnel.

Hello Eastern Shore!

I drove Friday and spent Saturday with her - then drove back home Sunday. A short but sweet trip.